are VW jettas good cars?

Question 1
are VW jettas good cars?...  
btw whats a head gasket failure and how serious is it?

Answers
1)   they are prone to head-gasket failure, so no. - Max W

2)   Krapennugen. - Theneelster

3)   Jettas are excellent cars. Even better if it's a 5 speed. They recover great from accidents. Owning one won't kill your pocket as far as insurance is concerned. They have excellent locking sytems, and are all around solid cars.
As far as head gasket issues, that will happen if you don't take care of it properly. If you're gonna buy a used one ask if the Head Gasket has been changed, and have it looked at buy a good mechanic. It doesnt take much to change it. - Law

4)   NO! Save money! They leak oil like a siv and have alot of electrical problems as well as head gaskets. Law has one a the very few that make it as long as his jetta has. And im sure he puts a lot of money into maintaing it. Jetta's = Farfromgood. Most of time with the jetta's when the head gasket go's bad, you have to repace the head its self. another two grand plus! Dont buy it. - Jason


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Question 2
Can someone tell me where to buy 1973 VW tires?...  I'm fixing up my old VW super beetle and I need tires but I can't seem to find any for a cheep price. I'm not looking for brand new tires, but some that are in good shape. the tire size is 165R15 thank you :)

Answers
1)   Get them while there hot.
On several sites, the size is either unavailable or in stock for now, but will be discontinued.
Good Luck
PS, you can post your question on VW forums for additional help. - Max Cruise

2)   Yeah, less and less manufacture are making that size and to find them at a discount will be tougher. If your local tires shop does not have them then check online.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/searchTiresByVehicleAndSize.do?v=002458|1973&r=CALINT|pc|90008&ar=80&rd=15&cs=165

$60 each - Kenny

3)   http://www.jbugs.com/category/VWT1.html

enjoy! - Travis

4)   by the way that spell tires i guewss you are in US, all I can suggest is that you go to a large tyre retailer and se if they can help, they can always order them in. - Pete


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Question 3
are 2003 new beetle gls tdi hatchbacks good in snow?...  Hi i'm from a place where it snows pretty bad sometimes. so i'm wondering if these cars are built with front wheel drive or anything like that that deals good in the snow. thanks for the help. 10 points for the best and most accurate answer.
http://reno.craigslist.org/ctd/1822520366.html <br /> pics of the car

Answers
1)   They do pretty good. I have a 2002 turbo new beetle. Remember that the car only has 4 inches of ground clearance so to some degree you are working with physics. As long as I keep my tires and brakes in good condition I feel pretty confident in most of the bad weather we have had in the 8 years I have had the car. I will say that it does not do as well as my Jetta did, but it also isn't as heavy of a car. There have been handful of times when I wasn't able to leave due to the depth of snow and had to call someone with a larger, heavier vehicle for a ride. Unless you live in the mountains I think you'll be ok. - wyllow

2)   It depends on where you get the car. Cars built in Alaska are perfect for know, but when my sister brought hers down to Texas it literally melted. My mom has the same car, but it didn't melt because it was built in Texas. So it depends on where you buy it. - Jackie Chan

3)   Yes, the new beetle is good in snow because it has the engine weight over the drive wheels, and is front wheel drive.
The old beetle was good because it was rear engine and rear wheel drive, which is only slightly better. - Motorhead

4)   They are terrible in snow ,like most other modern cars. The problem is the ultra wide profile wheels and tyres that are fitted to most cars. The front wheel drive configuration is better than rear wheel drive but not as good as 4 wheel or all wheel drive. (Take a look at a rally car spec) I had a front wheel drive Skoda in UK this last winter (it is based on the VW Golf/Rabbit/Beetle) I bought a set of steel wheels and fitted M&S (Mud and slush) tyres. The transformation was out of this world. It would go uphill in the snow and more importantly downhill and stop ! So the suggestion is if you get a Beetle, source out a couple of steel wheel and fit M&S (you can get cheap ones) have them in the garage and fit them to the front if we get snow.Don't forget the Beetle has a five stud fitting so a steel wheel from a base model Golf or Skoda Octavia will fit. - L G


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Question 4
2002 VW Jetta GLS 2.0 passenger side vanity light wont go off?...  any ideas? I have the fuse pulled right now to prevent my battery from dying, but the fuse for the vanity light (above the visor, should turn on when mirror cover is slid) is also the fuse for all overhead lights and the key remote lock.

Answers
1)   The sliding cover must contact a switch of some description, the switch would seem to be faulty. Its really a case of a good DIY person or Auto electrician taking a look at it. - L G

2)   There are a few common possiblities: one, the switch contact in the sliding cover is broken (as the other person wrote), two, less common and sometimes seen, the wiring to the visor has broken or cracked insulation and allows the wiring to continue to complete a circuit, thus keeping the light on all the time. I've seen this one a couple of times where the visor was flipped up and down a lot over its lifetime. Since the visor is only sold as assembly, the easiest thing to do is to remove the sunvisor (easy to do), follow the wiring that hangs down from the headliner and disconnect it at the coupling plug (easy to do) tape the end up to prevent the extremely remote possibly of it breaking the plastic and grounding out. Also with you leaving a little excess tape after taping the end, you use the excess tape hanging from the end to tape the wiring to the headliner making it easier to find when you replace the visor. Now, you can put the fuse back in and make the other items work without worry about draining the battery.

You can go to pick a part or some other salvage or breakers yard and buy a used sunvisor for very little money if you feel the need to replace it. Most places will give you a 30 exchange replacement policy or refund if the part you buy isn't any good. - a car nut

3)   Gee; I don't look for the fusebox(breaker box) in a house just because a light stays on. I look for the light switch as being at fault.
You should be looking for the same thing. Where it is, I cannot say b'cause I am not that vain. I know I am pretty. - Comic Canuck


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Question 5
What year or model is this Volkswagen GTI?...  I have seen a VW GTI around my town and it looks like it is around the year 2000-2004 but it has 4 doors. I really like this look but I can't find any. What model and year is this? Please Help

Answers
1)   Try looking up the VW Golf it has the option to have 4 doors - Luke

2)   Many Golf GTI's built from 1999 were in fact not really GTI. They were badged that way by VW in UK and were actually only a 2.0 litre GL. The proper and correct model did arrive eventually and was Turbo charged. If you take a peek at www.autotrader.co.uk you single out the Golf models, identify various things like engine size and trim and equipment and of course get a flavour of the "asking price" - L G

3)   it would be a mk4 mark fours are made from 1999 to aorund 2004 or 2005 - James


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